Department of Animal Science
Date of this Version
1975
Abstract
Fifty-six crossbred growing and finishing swine were used to determine the effect of treadmill exercise on several performance and carcass parameters When housed in confinement on 100% slatted floors. The exercised swine were subjected to walking 1.6 km/hr for 1 hr 5 days per week. The mean experimental duration was 71 days. Jugular vein blood samples and gracilus muscle biopsy samples were obtained prior and following completion of exercise. Exercise had no major influence on average daily gain, daily feed intake or gain/feed ratio. Bone breaking strength of the left fourth metatarsal was significantly (P <.01) greater for exercised pigs than non exercised. However, right third and fourth metatarsal and left third metatarsal bone breaking strengths were not influenced by exercise.
Comments
Published in the Journal of Animal Science 40 (1975), pp. 457-462. Copyright © 1975 American Society of Animal Science. Used by permission.